3 HCPSS Students Named Among Top 300 Scholars In The Nation In Science Talent Search

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Centennial High School students William Gao and Ishani Ghosh, along with River Hill High School’s Eric Tang, recently were named among the top 300 scholars in the nation in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, a national science research competition for high school seniors.

Scholars are chosen based on several criteria, including their leadership, community involvement, academic commitment and innovative research.

Gao also was named among the top 40 finalists in the competition. As a finalist, Gao received $25,000 and will participate in a week-long competition from March 6-13 that offers more than $1.8 million in awards, including the top prize of $250,000.

This year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search drew a record 2,162 applications from 712 high schools across 46 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and 10 other countries. Gao recently was featured in an HCPSS web story for being the first author on a professional scientific paper published in the international, peer-reviewed journal, Cancer Informatics.